The armored behemoth lowered its head in acknowledgment. "This servant obeys the Master’s decree."
"Listen closely to your mission," Lucian instructed, his tone dropping into a low, serious murmur. "Tonight, you will take a vanguard detachment of one hundred Shadow Soldiers. You will depart the Sterling Manor in complete stealth, bypass the city’s defensive perimeter, and infiltrate the outer ring of the Thousand Mountain Forest."
Shadow One stood motionless, its violet eye-flames burning steadily as it committed every word to its core consciousness.
"Your primary objective is hunting," Lucian continued, tapping his finger against his knee. "Target First-Order Otherworldly Beasts. Hunt them ruthlessly. The moment you kill a target, use Shadow Devour to swallow its shadow and digest its essence. Do not leave a single trace behind. If the beast possesses an intact crystal core or valuable biological material, store it in the deepest crevices of your shadow form and bring it back."
"Understood, Master," Shadow One replied. "What are the rules of engagement regarding human cultivators?"
"Absolute avoidance," Lucian said coldly. "If you encounter human mercenary squads, military patrols, or students from other schools, do not engage. Slip into the earth and let them pass. If someone discovers your presence and attempts to capture or destroy you, eliminate them cleanly and leave no evidence. Above all, prioritize survival and stealth. Do not advance into the core regions of the mountains. Confine your operations to the outer ridges until we have mapped the terrain."
"Your will is my command."
Lucian walked over to the desk, pulled open a drawer, and retrieved a detailed tactical map of the Silverwood City outskirts that he had downloaded from the school’s intranet. He laid it flat, pointing to the jagged green contours marking the base of the Thousand Mountain Forest.
"Here. The Black Crow Ridge. It sits on the western flank of the forest, far away from the official military transit roads and commercial hunting bases. The beast density there is moderate, mostly consisting of First-Order, Stage-1 to Stage-4 beasts. It’s the perfect staging ground."
Lucian pressed his palm against Shadow One’s armored breastplate, transferring the topographical data directly into the commander’s mental imprint through their soul connection.
"Take one hundred soldiers. Move out when the moon passes the central sky, when the city’s ambient light is at its weakest. I will remain here in the manor, cultivating and acting as your anchor. If you encounter an insurmountable threat, sever your shadow tether and retreat instantly."
"Shadow One will not fail the Master."
With a silent bow, the tall commander melted downward, collapsing into a dark, viscous puddle on the floorboards before sliding beneath Lucian’s bed and vanishing into the shadows of the room.
Lucian stood alone in the quiet training chamber, exhaling a long breath.
His heart was thumping with quiet, electric anticipation. He walked over to the full-length window, pulling the curtains aside slightly. Below him, the vast courtyard of the Sterling residence lay quiet under the silver moonlight. In the distance, the brilliant neon spires of Silverwood City reached toward the sky, but far beyond those lights, the dark, monstrous silhouette of the Thousand Mountain Forest loomed like a slumbering titan.
"Let’s see just how deep this abyss really goes," Lucian murmured.
He turned off the chamber’s lights, sat back down on his meditation cushion, and closed his eyes.
Inside his Sea of Consciousness, nine hundred Shadow Soldiers continued their relentless, machine-like circulation of the Eternal Night Demon Codex, their spectral forms glowing with faint, obsidian light.
And down below, through the foundation stones of the Sterling Manor, beneath the reinforced concrete walls and the high-frequency scanning arrays of the municipal border, a slender, pitch-black ribbon of darkness began sliding silently into the night.
The night was dead, but the shadows were alive.
The moon hung like a severed silver hook above the jagged horizon, casting a cold light over the wilderness outside Silverwood City.
Thirty kilometers north, where civilization gave way to primal terror, stood the jagged silhouette of the Thousand Mountain Forest. Thick, foul-smelling miasma rolled through the valleys, carrying the metallic stench of dried blood and rotting vegetation. Centuries-old pines stretched toward the sky, their twisted branches tangled with iron-hard thorn vines.
Beneath the rotting canopy, dead leaves crunched softly underfoot.
It was not the sound of a beast.
It was the synchronized march of armored boots.
A hundred and one figures moved silently through the mist. They no longer resembled formless specters or shadows beneath the soil. Clad in matte-black plate armor, they walked upright in humanoid form, their heavy cloaks trailing behind them.
At the front strode Shadow One.
Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, the Shadow Commander carried himself like a seasoned general. A jagged greatsword rested in his hands at a low angle.
Behind him, one hundred Shadow Soldiers marched in a rigid triangular formation, two paces apart, their hands resting on the hilts of their dark sabers.
Every soldier possessed the terrifying strength of a First-Order, Ninth-Stage Martial Warrior. Their armor made no sound as they moved, and their boots landed on the decaying ground with perfect balance. Crimson flames burned quietly behind their narrow visors.
Suddenly, Shadow One raised a single gauntleted fist.
The hundred-man unit halted instantly.
Not a single boot dragged. Not a single breath disturbed the fog.
Fifty paces ahead, the brush rustled violently. The foul stench of rotting tubers and musk spread through the clearing, followed by the sound of heavy grunting.
They were feeding.
Through the tangled ferns, six massive silhouettes appeared.
Iron-Tusk Boars : First-Order, Second-Stage Otherworldly Beasts.
Each was roughly the size of a light combat vehicle, covered in bristling, steel-like black quills. Two curved crimson tusks, nearly a meter long, protruded from their slavering jaws as they tore into the trunk of a dead spirit tree.
Shadow One’s violet eye-flames flickered.
Its sharp intellect, inherited from Lucian, assessed the situation in an instant.
Low agility. Heavy frontal defense. Exposed neck joints.
Shadow One raised its hand and made three swift gestures.
The vanguard immediately moved.